For retailers, it’s now no longer a matter of “if” you will be compromised by a cyberattack, but “when” you will be. But they can mitigate the impact of attacks now and in the future by preparing a response plan with policy-based automation.

The National Retail Federation on Wednesday presented Congress with what it termed “practical, commonsense and achievable solutions” to better protect consumers and help businesses prevent cyberattacks and data breaches, including passage of a uniform nationwide breach notification law applying to all entities that handle sensitive customer information.

Data breaches are on the rise around the world. Digital security provider Gemalto released the latest edition of its Breach Level Index (BLI), revealing that more than 1,500 data breaches led to one billion data records compromised worldwide during 2014.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) will testify Tuesday, Jan. 27 at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing, “What are the Elements of Sound Data Breach Legislation.”

A class action lawsuit compiling more than 30 of the 44 lawsuits that have been filed against The Home Depot Inc. in relation to its 2014 data breach is scheduled to begin Friday, Jan. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.

Chick-fil-A acknowledged on Friday that it has received reports of potential “unusual activity” involving payment cards used at a few of its restaurants and that it was investigating whether a data breach had taken place.

The Home Depot Inc. showed solid performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 despite reporting a major data breach in September, but still has not fully accounted for all the costs related to the breach.

Bedford, Mass. -- Almost 50% of consumers have fallen victim to at least one data breach and 45% say they are not confident they know all instances of when their personal information has been leaked. However, according to a survey conducted by RSA, the security division of EMC, in conjunction with the Ponemon Institute of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, in many cases behaviors toward security have not changed.

In Russia alone, stolen payment card information is a $680 million-per-year industry, according to Moscow-based security company Group IB. With that much money to be made, it’s no wonder cyber-attacks are so common.

After large-scale payment data breaches at Target, Sally Beauty, Michaels, Niemen Marcus and the recently confirmed breach at Home Depot, it seems that no retailer is safe from skilled hackers. The incidents also bring to light such questions as “why are payment system breaches happening more frequently?” and “how can they be stopped?”

The year 2013 was a wake-up call for retailers with regards to national data breaches, with frequency jumping 62% from 2012 to 2013. Eight chart-topping breaches exposed information totaling just over 10 million people last year, as opposed to one single breach of that size the year before.

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